Five local veterans spoke at Canton High School Wednesday morning for the school's traditional WWII panel, though this year's will be the last. History and civics teacher Harold Rose said the panels started in 1994 and take place each year around the anniversary of Pearl Harbor for American History students. However, due to the declining number of living WWII veterans, Wednesday marked the last day for the event. This year's panel included five speakers, who shared their personal stories of being in the service: Betty Conrad, Clyde Eskridge, Ken Stevens, Willis Brown and Donald Stufflebeam. Conrad said she decided she wanted to join the Navy the day after Pearl Harbor, when she heard two classmates saying they were going to quit school to join the military. After signing up for the Navy on her 20th birthday — she had been told she had to be at least 20 years old to join — Conrad began basic training and eventually worked jobs relating to taking care of ships. Conrad also noted misconceptions some have of Navy soldiers during WWII, such as sleeping instead of fighting. She maintained that "our boys" worked hard during their time in service. “The real heroes of this war were those that saved others,” Conrad said. During her military days, she also took part in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral procession. Eskridge, also of the Navy, went to electrical school and worked on a Landing Ship, Tank (LST) vessel. These vessels transported weapons, materials and soldiers. He described his time as non-stop travel throughout the South Pacific, even adding that there wasn't a single island in the area that they had not been to. “It was a very interesting experience and very dramatic at times,” Eskridge said. Stevens, who also served in the South Pacific, told a different kind of story. While in service, his task force had met up with another force to plan an attack against the enemy. However, they were discovered by the Japanese and were bombed. During battle, only one U.S. plane remained and instead of running, the pilot continued fighting and ended up taking down five Japanese planes. Stevens said when it was over, the only damage the ship he was on received was a few bullet holes. The pilot of the plane was Edward O'Hare, son of Al Capone's lawyer. O'Hare became the Navy's first flying ace, and O'Hare International Airport in Chicago was named after him. Stevens noted that O'Hare's father had “sacrificed his life” because his father had given the government evidence against Capone in order for O'Hare to be accepted into the Navy. The other WWII panelists had served in Europe, with Brown serving in England and Germany. After being drafted and then deferred a year due to a mining accident, Brown became a driver and then later a mail carrier for the Army. He reminisced on one memory while he was delivering mail for a military hospital. According to Brown, sergeants and other higher-ranked military personnel frequently visited the hospital to see the nurses. During one of these visits, Brown said he approached the soldiers and told them to “dismount.” Brown was soon called in to see the general, who asked him what his rank was. After telling the general he was a mail carrier, Brown said the general immediately promoted him to sergeant. “I saw a lot of country and a lot of people,” Brown said of his service. Stufflebeam, the last speaker, also served in Europe. He joined the military in 1942 after a friend suggested it. Though Stufflebeam didn't have the required schooling, he passed the written tests and soon began training for becoming a pilot. He left for training in January 1943 and went overseas near the end of 1944. Stufflebeam said he flew around 26 missions, which included the bombing of Hamburg, Germany. During the panel, students also asked veterans questions, such as what they did after service and how supportive their families were of fighting in the war. Rose said that while this year was the last year for the WWII panel, some Korean or Vietnam veterans may come into the American History classrooms next year.